1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a medical system for a plurality of operators to perform an operation of one medical instrument in collaboration.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, endoscopes have been widely used in a medical field. An endoscope includes an elongated insertion portion, and can perform observation by inserting the insertion portion into a body. Also, a treatment instrument may be inserted into the body through a treatment instrument channel provided in the insertion portion of the endoscope to perform various tests, therapies, or treatments.
A general endoscope is configured in such a way that a bending portion that can be vertically and laterally bent by an operator's hand operation is provided on a distal end side of an insertion portion. The bending portion can be bent in a desired direction by a pulling/slackening operation of a bending wire inserted through the insertion portion.
The bending wire is generally operated by a manual operation of a bending operation knob or a bending operation lever provided in an operation section connected to a proximal end of the insertion portion. In recent years, in order to reduce a load on an operator who operates a bending operation knob or the like, an electric bending endoscope apparatus has been proposed configured to perform a pulling/slackening operation of a bending wire using electric bending driving means such as an electric motor.
When an insertion portion of an endoscope is inserted into an intricate tube cavity, for example, a large intestine, an operator operates, for example, a bending knob to bend a bending portion, and twists the insertion portion to insert a distal end portion of the insertion portion toward an observation target area. However, short-time and smooth insertion of the insertion portion to a deep target area in the large intestine without giving pain to a patient requires skill. An inexperienced operator may lose track of an insertion direction and be slow to insert the insertion portion to the deep area, or may significantly deform a course of the intestine to give pain to the patient. Thus, in recent years, a medical system has been proposed that can easily insert an insertion portion to a target area of a tube cavity.
A recent medical system includes, for example, an electronic endoscope having a bending portion, a light source apparatus that supplies an illuminating light to the electronic endoscope, a camera controller having an image processing circuit for displaying an endoscopic image, and a monitor that displays the endoscopic image, and further includes, for example, a pneumoperitoneum apparatus, a high frequency cauterization apparatus, or the like as peripheral apparatuses.
In this medical system, under endoscopic observation, observation, therapies, treatments, or surgeries can be performed such as endoscopic therapies including endoscopic mucosal resection in which an injection solution is injected to a submucosa immediately below cancer cell in mucosa to release the mucosa and then only the mucosa containing the cancer cell is resected, or polypectomy in which a polyp is resected by a high frequency snare. Thus, doctors are demanded to acquire and improve an insertion technique, and also acquire endoscopic therapies and treatments and improve techniques thereof.
In such a medical system, an inexperienced doctor (hereinafter referred to as a lower doctor) acquires a technique under the supervision of a skilled doctor (hereinafter referred to as an upper doctor). Specifically, under endoscopic observation, the lower doctor together with the upper doctor observes an endoscopic image displayed on a monitor. Then, the lower doctor is verbally instructed or directly guided by the upper doctor, and thus can insert an insertion portion, for example, into a large intestine to reliably perform large intestine endoscopy.
For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-271147 discloses a telesurgery system in which an upper doctor in a remote place can observe an endoscopic image via a communication line, and change the endoscopic image to a desired state by a hand operation to appropriately support a lower doctor in an operating room.